On 14 June in Oaxaca City, teachers from Section 22 of the National Union of Educational Workers (SNTE) carried out a march to commemorate the events of 14 June 2006. On this day, state police tried unsuccessfully to forcibly displace a sit-in of teachers that was being held in the Zócalo of the Oaxacan capital.

The teachers, who concluded the mobilization with a rally in the Zócalo of Oaxaca City, demanded justice for the 27 who were murdered in the social conflict of 2006, as well as judgment and punishment of those responsible for the repression against the movement which took place at that time, particularly former governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (2004-2010). The statistics of participation for the march differ, with some estimates claiming 20,000 teachers, and others 70,000. In their march toward the center of the city, the teachers removed electoral propaganda from all parties and defaced the local office of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). Furthermore, they called for a boycott of local elections for deputies and mayors (7 July) as well as the official Guelaguetza, and additionally announced plans for a popular Guelaguetza, from 22 to 24 July. During the teachers’ mobilization, two incidents occurred: first, six teachers were injured in a car accident, while later three others were hurt when they were stoned, and later were hospitalized.

The failed displacement of 2006 marked the beginning of the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO) and the social conflict in Oaxaca that lasted until 25 November of that year, when units of the federal police displaced the protestors and arrested more than 100 persons.

On 27 April, three years passed since the murders of Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola, of Finnish origins, who were attacked by an armed group with presumed links to local and state authorities on this day in 2010, as they were traveling in a humanitarian and observation caravan to the Triqui community of San Juan Copala to document the conditions in which dozens of family had been living under conditions of siege.

Members of the Indigenous Zapatista Agrarian Movement (MAIZ), the Revolutionary Popular Front (FPR), and teachers from Section 22 of the Huajuápan chapter of the National Coordination of Educational Workers (CNTE), together with other social organizations, on 26 April carried out mobilizations and a march to protest the impunity experienced in the case of these murders.

Omar Esparza Zarate, leader of MAIZ in the Mixteco region and widower of Bety Cariño Trujillo, expressed that “These three years have been difficult, because I not only lost a comrade–the pain is there and will always be there–but also because of all the harassment, intimidation, illegal searches of the office, and sensing that one has to always be on edge due to lack of knowledge of when the aggressors will make good on their death-threats.” Furthermore, he added that “for three years, we have spoken to the lack of interest on the government’s part to see justice done. We have not perceived any sort of will to resolve these murders, nor for punishment of those responsible for them, in accordance with the law.” Finally, Omar Esparza lamented that the state authorities have not observed their commitment, nor have they declared responsibility for the intellectual and material authors of the crimes. Beyond this, he stressed that the deaths of social activists is certainly a constant feature of life in the country.

For its part, the Union of Indigenous Communities of the Northern Zone of the Isthmus (UCIZONI) made public that “with relation to these crimes, 12 arrest-orders have been declared against the presumed murderers, among which is included the leaders of UBISORT which one day before the departure of the caravan made serious threats against the physical integrity of our comrades. We also indicate that ex-governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz should be considered an intellectual author of these bloody acts, given his public recognition of his having financially supported the paramilitary UBISORT group.”Similarly, Amnesty International and Frontline Defenders have reminded the federal and Oaxacan state authorities of their responsibilities to guarantee that these acts not remain in impunity.

On 25 November, Section 22 of the National Union of Educational Workers (SNTE) marched toward the zócalo of Oaxaca City, in observance of the six-year anniversary of a confrontation with the police which marked the struggle of its movement, in repudiation of the repression experienced in 2006 to demand punishment of those responsible. This march ended with a rally in their offices in downtown Oaxaca. Rubén Núñez Ginez, general secretary of Section 22, finalized the different interventions in which was requested the release of their comrades who remain imprisoned as well as judgment of those responsible for the incident in 2006, beyond other recurring demands such as increases in wages and working-conditions as well as rejection of federal evaluation measures. Also was recalled the incident of 21 October when teachers of the union section had a confrontation with residents of the municipality of San Pablo Villa de Mitla regarding the highway blockade they had maintained in rejection of the control regarding some schools in the state as exercised by another faction of the union, Section 59. This confrontation resulted in the arrest of five teachers who were publicly exhibited as half-naked, blindfolded, and with their hands tied in the middle of the municipality.One of the banners on display in the zócalo read “Gabino Cué we demand the transfer of schools to Section 22 and the cancellation of modules of Section 59, a commission for truth and punishment against Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, resources for PTEO and alternative education, punishment of the PRI members responsible for the repression in Mitla.”It should be remembered that on 25 November 2006, just days before the accession of Calderón to the presidency of the republic, the teachers and popular movements organized a megamarch to end in downtown Oaxaca, the objective of which was to install a human siege that would last 48 hours around the federal agents to protest for the exit of the PFP and the resignation of governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz. This march ended in the worst confrontation that until that time exercised by police against members of the movement; it was followed by arson as directed against different buildings, and it culminated during the night with strong social repression against the social movement and a sector of the population that had nothing to do with APPO.

In observance of 25 November, the International Day for the elimination of violence against women, activists and human-rights defenders in the state of Oaxaca created the State Network of Female Activists and Human-Rights Defenders in Oaxaca, with the objective of articulating responsibilities for actions and omissions on the part of the state. Oaxaca is the state with highest number of aggressions against female human-rights defenders in the country, as the Network has denounced. According to data from the National Network of Human-Rights Defenders in Mexico, as of November 2012, Oaxaca has registered a total of 19 aggressions against female rights-defenders this year, including an attack against a female journalist.

On 23 November, in the city of Oaxaca de Juárez, there was celebrated the Festival for Life and Non-Violence toward Women, an event that formed part of the popular campaign of citizens’ participation “For our rights, we act now!” organized by the Civil Space of Oaxaca. The activities included dance, music, poetry, art, and a space of storytelling for children. During this event was read the Declaration of the First Meeting of Female Activists and Human-Rights Defenders in Oaxaca, which stresses that “We know that the actions that we carry out to demand respect for human rights and so as not to remain silent before the injustices, impunity, and abuses of power, situates us in a state of vulnerability, implying risks that are not just personal but also directed against our families and organizational processes.” The document indicates that “the authors of said aggressions are the federal, state, municipal, communal, and private corporate authorities, including caciques, a situation that places us at great risk, given that our struggle is against a system that we all dream of changing. We desire a world in which the defense of human rights be a real right, one that guarantees security everywhere and at all times of our lives.” The document concludes, “we find the state government of Oaxaca and the federal government to be responsible for the life and physical and psychological security of our comrades Bettina Cruz Velázquez, Reynalda Cid, and the members of the group 8 of March.”

During the six-year term of Ulises Ruíz Ortiz, 283 murders were registered against women. During what has passed of the administration of Gabino Cué Monteagudo, 169 women have been killed in Oaxaca. The Sub-Prosecutor for Crimes against Women for Reasons of Gender indicates that from January to October 2012 62 crimes have been committed against women, but according to data from civil organizations, a total of 69 murders of women have been observed.

On 27 September, two years and five months after the murders of the Mexican human-rights defenders Beatriz Cariñ and the Finnish observer Jyri Jaakkola, 12 arrest-orders were released against the presumed material authors of their deaths. The announcement was made in a press-conference carried out in Mexico City on 1 October. At the event, the lawyer David Peña from the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (ANAD) announced that a penal denunciation will be presented before Finnish prosecutors against the intellectual authors of these crimes; included within these are the PRI ex-governor of Oaxaca, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, Evencio Nicolás Martínez Ramírez, then the secretary general of Oaxaca, as well as the mayor of Juxtlahuaca in 2010, when the ambush was perpetrated in which Cariño and Jaakkola lost their lives. “None of this is being investigated in Mexico; the PGR has not opened an investigation into the intellectual authors, among them former governor Ulises Ruiz for his financing of armed groups like Ubisort.” Peña noted that the team will meet in Mexico City with officials from Governance, the Federal Attorney General’s Office (PGR), and the Chancellery to request security measures for witnesses and those who were injured on 27 April 2010, given that they fear for their lives.

For his part, Omar Esparza, husband to Beatriz Cariño, stressed that it is not enough to release arrest orders, but rather that now it depends on the government of Gabino Cué to observe the orders and arrest these 12 persons.

This information was released to coincide with the visit of the Eurodeputies Satu Hassi y Ska Keller, who were in the country from 1 to 5 October to verify the grave humanitarian situation that prevails in states like Oaxaca and Guerrero.

On 14 June, on the sixth anniversary of the beginning of the social conflict in Oaxaca, several actions were taken regarding the events of 2006. Section 22 of the National Union of Educational Workers (SNTE) commemorated the failed attempt to displace the protests on 14 June y 2006 with a march and rally in the capital of the state. This attempt at displacement gave rise to the Popular Assembly of the Peoples of Oaxaca (APPO). Azael Santiago Chepi, secretary general of Section 22, indicated in an interview with local media that the teachers’ demand continues until justice is done for the attacks suffered against teachers during the social conflict, and he called it a “farce” that the former governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (2004-2010) would carry out actions in favor of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) in the state during the present electoral campaign, given the crimes committed by his government.

Beyond this, and also on 14 June, the Oaxacan governor Gabino Cué Monteagudo carried out an act of recognition for the responsibility of the state government regarding the human-rights violations committed during the social conflict. Cué noted that all state institutions have the obligation to recognize and offer comprehensive attention to the victims of human-rights violations committed in 2006 and 2007. Within this act of recognition, an accord was signed that creates the Comprehensive Plan of Reparation of Damages that promises compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-repetition. In a joint communiqué, the Gobixha AC Committee for Comprehensive Defense of Human Rights and FUNDAR Center of Analysis and Investigation expressed that “this act of public recognition of the responsibility of the Oaxacan State contributes to the rehabilitation of the victims and their reintegration into society, as well as constituting a process of a reconstruction of the social fabric that will only be possible if it based on truth and justice.” They demanded furthermore that “as soon as possible the investigations carried out by the Prosecutorial Office of Crimes of Social Importance associated with the State Attorney General’s Office must bear fruit and establish the penal responsibility for the acts that occurred during 2006 and 2007. This is a necessary step to break with the authoritarian past and put in place a democratic transition from the point of transitional justice, in terms of the reconstruction of the social fabric and the reconciliation of different sectors of society.”

On 17 April, members of different civil and social organizations carried out a meeting in front of the headquarters of the Federal Attorney General’s Office in Mexico City to demand the clarification of the murder of the human-rights defenders Bety Cariño y Jyri Jaakkola that occurred on 27 April 2010 when they were attempting to bring humanitarian support to the community of San Juan Copala in the Triqui region of the state of Oaxaca. Protestors demanded that authorities conclude with their investigations, “given that they now have all the necessary evidence and testimony, and it is just a question of political will to resolve it.”

They announced that they will submit an international criminal denunciation against the Oaxacan ex-governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (2004-2010). Beyond this, the Cariño family declared that it will next week visit Finland, Jaakkola’s country of origin, to officially submit the denunciation against Ruiz for his responsibility for the crime. “Yes, it is necessary to go to the other side of the world to find justice, so that is how we will do it,” signaled Omar Esparza, Bety Cariño’s husband.

In the protest participated organizations like the Zapatista Indigenous Agrarian Movement, the Mexican Alliance for the Self-Determination of Peoples, the National Association of Democratic Lawyers, and Campesino and Urban Communities in Solidarity with Alternatives, among others.